Leonard Birnbaum, head of German concern E.ON, believes that in the conditions of reduced natural gas supplies from Russia, the Federal Republic of Germany should find ways to fully increase domestic production, including fracking.

“We must now look for all solutions without taboos to help us improve the situation,” Birnbaum told the WirtschaftsWoche podcast.

“We have to ask ourselves the question, ‘Can we develop additional fields in Germany?”‘ – he said, adding that maximizing domestic production could be part of the solution and may be more environmentally friendly than other options.

Birnbaum, however, acknowledged that increasing domestic production would not be a solution to the current situation, but only a small “building block” that could help reduce the deficit.

Germany’s natural gas and oil production is declining mainly because unconventional fracking is banned and conservation laws make it difficult to get permission for new drilling.

In April, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said he had no plans to change the fracking ban.

Germany reportedly activated the second, “alert” level of its three-phase emergency action plan for gas supply the day before, with authorities saying the country is facing a “gas crisis.”

“Even if we don’t feel it now, we are in a state of ‘gas crisis’,” Habeck said. He said Germany would defend itself against a reduction in gas supplies, but it had a “thorny road ahead.”

The country’s authorities said the decision to raise the level to “alarming” was made due to the reduction in supplies from Russia since June 14. It was also influenced by the high market price of gas. The third and the highest level is “emergency”.

Despite the fact that German gas storage facilities are currently 58% full, it will be impossible to reach 90% by December without additional measures, according to Berlin.